What WUWM does

WUWM 89.7 FM is Milwaukee's NPR-affiliated public radio station, licensed to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and operated by UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters and Science under the Milwaukee Public Media service brand. Founded in 1964, the station serves the Milwaukee metropolitan area and broader southeastern Wisconsin with over-the-air FM broadcasting, live digital streaming, and a portfolio of locally produced podcasts anchored by the flagship conversation program Lake Effect and its sub-series. Beyond broadcast, WUWM distributes content through its website (wuwm.com), mobile applications for iOS and Android, smart speaker integration (Amazon Alexa, Google Home), podcast platforms (including PRX), and NPR's national network.

The station's business model follows the standard public media framework, deriving revenue from a mix of listener donations and membership contributions (subscription recurring), business sponsorships through the MarketEnginuity platform (advertising), federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and institutional support from UW-Milwaukee. Its editorial coverage spans local Milwaukee and Wisconsin beats including environment, education, race and ethnicity, arts and culture, economy and business, government and politics, health and science, immigration, and data centers. The product portfolio includes the FM broadcast, live stream, podcasts (Lake Effect, Bubbler Talk, Capitol Notes, Midwest Moxie, and others), the WUWM mobile app, smart speaker access, YouTube Shorts content, weekly e-newsletters, and integration with NPR.org and the NPR mobile app.

WUWM operates as a state government entity under the University of Wisconsin system, governed by an advisory board with the general manager reporting to UWM's associate dean of the College of Letters and Science. The station's leadership team includes a President/General Manager (David Lee), VP of Operations (Becky Grandone, joined January 2024), and VP of Marketing and Development (Melanie Johnson). Its go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on listener engagement, donation drives, volunteer programs, and local event participation rather than traditional sales-based acquisition.

Name

WUWM

Legal name

WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR (Milwaukee Public Media)

Website

https://wuwm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

WUWM 89.7 FM is Milwaukee's NPR-affiliated public radio station, operated by UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters and Science, delivering local news, NPR programming, podcasts, and digital streaming to southeastern Wisconsin audiences since 1964.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Network-Affiliated Local Radio Stations (News/Talk/Sports Syndication Affiliates) (MPABACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

News Talk Radio & Current Affairs Stations (MPABAIAI), Radio Content Production & Studios (On-air Production, Imaging, Jingles) (MPAIAEAL)

Keywords

• Public radio broadcasting
• NPR affiliate station
• Local news journalism
• Podcast production
• Community radio programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Listener Donations and Membership: WUWM relies heavily on listener donations and membership contributions as primary funding sources, operating under the public media model where community support sustains operations.
2. Business Sponsorship: The station offers business sponsorship opportunities through its MarketEnginuity platform, allowing local businesses to support public media while gaining visibility with the Milwaukee audience.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WUWM is a Milwaukee public radio station that broadcasts NPR programming and locally produced content on 89.7 FM. Its offering includes live radio, digital streaming, podcasts, newsletters, and local journalism for the Milwaukee-area audience.

Product overview

WUWM 89.7 FM is a public radio station serving Milwaukee, Wisconsin as an NPR affiliate. The station operates as a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science. The product portfolio consists of over-the-air FM broadcasting combined with digital audio streaming, a suite of locally-produced podcasts including the flagship program Lake Effect (with multiple sub-series), nationally-affiliated NPR programming, a mobile application, smart speaker integration, and a weekly e-newsletter. Content spans news categories including environment, education, race and ethnicity, arts and culture, economy and business, government and politics, health and science, immigration, and data center coverage. The station also produces WUWM Explains for educational explainers and maintains a YouTube Shorts presence for short-form video distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lake Effect: WUWM's flagship local news and conversation program covering people, places, and organizations that shape Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee Public Media

Products and services

• WUWM 89.7 FM Broadcast
• WUWM Live Stream
• Lake Effect
• Status Pending
• Swing State of the Union
• Bubbler Talk
• Capitol Notes
• Midwest Moxie
• Real Stories MKE
• Rising Forward
• Classic Eats
• UWM Chancellor's Report
• WUWM Mobile App
• WUWM Weekly E-Newsletter
• Business Sponsorships

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NPR (National Public Radio)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWUWM is Milwaukee's local NPR affiliate, carrying NPR national programming and contributing local content to the NPR network. This partnership provides WUWM listeners access to NPR's national and international news coverage while WUWM provides local Milwaukee journalism.
• UW-Milwaukee College of Letters & SciencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWUWM is operated by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's College of Letters and Science, providing educational opportunities for students while serving the community with public media content.
• University of Wisconsin Board of RegentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Wisconsin Board of Regents holds WUWM's broadcast license, providing the regulatory and institutional framework for the station's public media operations.
• Milwaukee Public MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMilwaukee Public Media is the service name under which WUWM operates, encompassing the station's public media mission and community service functions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WAMU 88.5 (DC): WAMU is the NPR affiliate in Washington, DC, operated by American University. It is a direct peer to WUWM as a university-affiliated public radio station producing local news, politics coverage, and original podcasts with a community-funded model.
• WBEZ Chicago: WBEZ is Chicago's primary NPR affiliate, operated by Chicago Public Media. It is a direct peer to WUWM given its role as a large-market, university-adjacent public radio station producing local journalism and original podcasts in a Midwest media market.
• St. Louis Public Radio (KWMU): St. Louis Public Radio is the NPR affiliate serving the St. Louis metro, operated by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. It is a direct peer to WUWM in university affiliation, Midwestern market size, and local journalism focus.
• KQED (San Francisco): KQED is the San Francisco Bay Area's NPR and PBS affiliate, one of the largest public media operators in the U.S. It is comparable to WUWM as a public radio broadcaster with deep original podcast production, listener-donation funding, and multi-platform distribution.
• Michigan Public (WUOM): Michigan Public is a University of Michigan-operated public radio network carrying NPR and original programming across the state. It is a direct peer to WUWM in mission, scale, and university-affiliated public radio model.
• WNYC New York Public Radio: WNYC is a flagship NPR affiliate serving the New York metro. It is directly comparable to WUWM as a public radio station combining local journalism, NPR programming, original podcasts, and listener-donation revenue.
• Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland): Ideastream is the public radio and TV licensee serving Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, combining NPR programming with local journalism. It is comparable to WUWM in scale, Rust Belt Midwestern market focus, and multi-platform public media operations.
• Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a flagship public radio network serving the Twin Cities and broader Minnesota region. It is a direct peer to WUWM as a high-output NPR affiliate with extensive original podcast production and listener-donation revenue model.
• WGBH Boston: WGBH is Boston's major public broadcaster and NPR affiliate, now part of the GBH public media organization. It is a direct peer to WUWM, and is specifically referenced in WUWM's leadership team's prior experience, underscoring operational and scale comparability.

Regional players

• Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin Public Radio is the statewide public radio network operated by the University of Wisconsin–Extension. It is a regional peer to WUWM, sharing Wisconsin listeners and overlapping NPR programming, but serving a broader statewide footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wuwmlakeeffect
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wuwmradio
• Facebookfacebook.com/wuwmradio
• Instagraminstagram.com/wuwmradio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wuwm-897-fm-milwaukee-public-radio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WUWM